with the tide's coming
by lokogato-sama
Summary: “Teme,” Naruto says, as if there weren’t years between them now and reams and reams of power. [SasuNaru]


Loko: It's more SasuNaru. They've all been lying around gathering dust for a while, so they got cleaned up a bit and shoved into the wide, wide world. Or something. Er.

Disclaimer: Orochimaru doesn't actually let Sasuke out for illicit rendezvous with former team-mates. We think, anyway.

Summary: "_Teme," Naruto says, as if there weren't years between them now and reams and reams of power._ SasuNaru

--

**with the tide's coming**

--

_You defy godhood.  
__I walk dry on your kingdom's border  
__Exiled to no good._

--

First there is a room, grey and dingy and clean in a way that makes Sasuke think it might have had a million or no customers before.

Then there is: Naruto who appears on the windowsill as promised, a flicker and then bright and orange and gold and sun-coloured and blue-eyed and

_god, _

Sasuke thinks, looking alive and divine against the black of the night.

"Teme," Naruto says, as if there weren't years between them now and reams and reams of power. Because Sasuke knows what Naruto can do (and fears what he himself might do) and there is the seal on Naruto's stomach and the seal on Sasuke's neck: and they'd promised that neither would be broken. "… Sasuke."

He's heard once that some people believe that the sky will turn red one day and the rivers will run with blood and it will be the end of the world, and he thinks then that Naruto might walk calmly through the wreckage, some bright spot of sunlight in a world gone swirling black and red (and here Sasuke remembers that he's tried to kill this vision of sun, and here Sasuke remembers that he is _supposed _to kill this vision of sun).

Sasuke can't find words: he nods, a sharp jerk and a sudden fall of black hair obscuring his vision. He yanks his bangs away from his eyes, thinks offhandedly, _need to get this cut, _and then Naruto is on him, hands pulling that hair away from his face and fingers tangling with Sasuke's and eyes wide and horrified and brutal and blueblueblueblueblue –

And then Naruto is speaking to him, fast and frantic and cruel and whywhywhywhywhy –

And Sasuke can't find anything, can't find his thoughts or his actions and he thinks that he may have gone mad or the world may have ended (and he looks out the window but the sky is as deep ebony velvet as ever) and so when Naruto's lips are suddenly there against the skin of his neck he can't think of how to react.

He knows exactly what Naruto is touching (lickingbitingsucking

_kissing_)

can feel a hot desperate tongue tracing comma, comma, comma, and the useless seal Sasuke has melded with his own chakra and controls as easily as a child with a pet mouse. Or birdmonster, he snorts to himself, as the case may be. Birdmonsterraventhing: he remembers flying towards Naruto and eyes blue as absolution.

Naruto says, "Why won't you come back -- " and Sasuke puts his hand over Naruto's mouth and shakes his head, because they both know that's impossible. Between his fingers paperpale against warm skin Naruto hisses choked and so full of pain (Sasuke is almost sorry, but his family comes before Naruto and always have, though they are dead and Naruto is so

_alive_)

"I'll make them take you back -- " and Sasuke puts his mouth over Naruto's mouth and unknots their fingers and Naruto's skin is as rough as ever, hair as thick and tangled and unkempt as ever, and Sasuke's knuckles still fit perfectly into the hollow of Naruto's neck when he's got his hands clenched into the collar of Naruto's shirt. Briefly Sasuke wonders if their skin still makes the same sound when in contact: thuds of fist on face and neck and arm and leg. And Naruto tastes like blood and spit and

_ramen_,

and Sasuke isn't sure whether to laugh or scream.

--

_Your shelled bed I remember.  
__Father, this thick air is murderous.  
__I would breathe water._

--

words: 602

The quoted poem is 'Full Fathom Five,' by Sylvia Plath, and is strongly recommended both on its own merit and as a background piece for this ficlet.

Reviewing is also strongly recommended, because reviewing is Good, and authors Live off of it, and living authors can improve more than dead ones.

… please.

Loko


End file.
